ELECTRICAL INSTALLATION Eeng 4161 Corrected and Developed by Tadie B.

CHAPTER 1
WIRING MATERIALS AND ACCESSORIE

 In order to assemble the great number of

available electrical materials, devices, fittings, and equipment properly and intelligently to form a complete
wiring system, we must understand the basic principles regarding them.

1.1 WIRE AND CABLES

 Strictly speaking, single wire, may be bare or covered with insulation is known as a wire and
several wires stranded together is known as a cable.
The necessary requirements of a cable are:
 efficient,
 cheap,
 safe
A cable consists of three parts:
A. the conductor or core = the metal wire or strand of wires caring current.
B. the insulation or dielectric = to avoid leakage current from the conductor.
C. the protective covering = for protection of insulation from mechanical damage.

1.2 CONDUCTOR MATERIALS USED IN CABLES

Copper and aluminum are the materials used as conductors in power and lighting cables.
1. Copper: though silver is the best conductor, but due to its higher cost it is hardly used anywhere.
The next best conductor is copper, which is comparatively cheap.
 The resistivity of pure copper 1.786 x 10-8 ohm .m.
 It is mechanically strong, hard, extremely tough, durable and ductile.
 It is highly resistive to corrosion, oxidation.
 Used for indoor and outdoor wires and cables
2. Aluminum: is frequently used in place of copper for bare electric cables used for long distance power
distribution.
 The electrical conductivity of aluminum is about 60% of that of copper.
 The only application of aluminum cables for wiring in buildings is for a continuous bus-bar system of
distribution

1.3 INSULATING MATERIALS

The insulating material used in electric cable must possess the following properties.
 High resistivity
 High flexibility
 Non-in flammability
 High resistivity to moisture, acid or alkalis qualities.
 Non hygroscopic
 High capacity to withstand high rupturing voltages

Various types of insulating materials used in cables are:

a. Rubber: rubber may be natural or synthetic. Its dielectric strength is 30KV/mm. it possess
 high insulating qualities,
 absorbs moisture readily,
 softens when heated to a temperature of 60⁰c to 70⁰c,
[SCEE]
Wiring accessories & installation materials
ELECTRICAL INSTALLATION Eeng 4161 Corrected and Developed by Tadie B.

 swells under the action of mineral oils

 Ages when exposed to light.
 Hence pure rubber cannot be used as insulating materials.

b. PVC: is a man made thermo-plastic materials.

 tough,
 incombustible and
 Chemically uncreative (inert to o, alkalies, acids).
 It does not deteriorate with age and does not need to be renewed.
 it’s better than VIR in cement factory, in chemical factory
 Its chief drawback is that it softens at a temperature above 80⁰c.

c. VIR: It is prepared by mixing Indian rubber with minerals such as sulphur, zinc, red lead, etc.
The copper conductors used in this cables are tinned to protect them from corrosive action of
rubber or copper.
 It absorbs water, which reduces its insulation properties
 Brittle with age.
d. Impregnated paper:
 it is quite cheap,
 has low capacitance,
 high dielectric strength (30KV/mm),
 high insulation resistivity (10Mohm-cm).
 The main advantage of paper insulated cable is that a cable of given size can be
worked out at a higher current density than a VIR cable.

1.4 TYPES OF CABLES USED IN INTERNAL WIRING

The wires used for internal wiring of buildings may be divided into different groups according to:
 The type of conductor
 The number of cores (single core, twin core, twin core with ECC )
 The voltage grading (250/440 volt and 650/1100-volt cable)
 The type of insulation used.

According to type of insulation cables can be classified into:

1. Vulcanized Indian Rubber (VIR) cables:
 VIR cables are available in 250/440volt as well as 650/1100 volt grades
 Used for general conduit wiring.
 The use of VIR cables is limited to low voltage distribution and internal wiring as
Paper-insulated cables have largely superseded them.
2. Lead sheathed cables:
 available in 250/440 volt grade
 Used for internal wiring where climatic condition has moisture.
 It is a vulcanized rubber insulated conductor covered with a continuous sheath of lead .The
sheath provides very good protection against the absorption of moisture and
sufficient protection against mechanical injury and can be used without casing or
conduit system.
 It is available as single core, flat twin core, flat three core and flat twin core with ECC.

3. PVC cables:
 Are available in 250/440 volt and 650/1100 volt grades
[SCEE]
Wiring accessories & installation materials
ELECTRICAL INSTALLATION Eeng 4161 Corrected and Developed by Tadie B.

 Used in concealed type of wiring system.

 Since PVC cables are harder than rubber, they do not require cotton taping and braiding over
it for mechanical and moisture protection.
 PVC insulated cables are usually employed for low and medium voltage domestic and
industrial lights and power installation.

4. Weather proof cables:

 available in 250/440 and 650/1100 volt grades
 used for outdoor wiring and for power supply
 Not affected by heat or sun or rain.
 They are either PVC insulated or vulcanized rubber-insulated conductors being suitably
taped (only in case of vulcanized rubber insulated cable) braided and then
compounded with weather resisting material.
5. Flexible cords and cables:
It consists of wires either silk or cotton or plastic covered, plastic cover is more popular as it is available in
various pleasing colors.
 Flexible (stranded)
 High strength (more conductors)
 These conductors are layers of wires in a numerical progression of 6 in the first layer, 12 in
the second layer, 18 in the third layer and so on.
 Used for motors and instruments
6. Impregnated paper: it is quite cheap,
 high dielectric strength 30kv/mm (of an insulating material, the maximum electric field strength that it can withstand
intrinsically without breaking down, i.e., without experiencing failure of its insulating property ),
 high insulation resistivity 10 -6Ω.cm,
 since it is fragile, lead sheath applied over the insulation,
 work at higher current density than VIR
 used for conveying large power in transmission and distribution
Colors of conductors:
Color identification of bare conductors and cable cores are given by EELPA’S regulation
 Earthing --------------------------------------------- white
 Live of a.c single-phase circuit ------------------- Green
 Neutral of ac single or three phase ac circuit ----black
 Phase R of three-phase ac circuit ------------------Green
 Phase S of three-phase ac circuit ------------------ Yellow
 Phase T of three-phase ac circuit ------------------ Red
General specification of cables:
The complete specification of a cable will give the following information:
i. The size of the cable
ii. The type of conductor used in cables (copper or aluminum)
iii. Number of cores that the cable consists of (single core, twin core,
twin core with ECC etc,)
iv. Voltage grade
v. Type of insulation (taping, braiding & compounding)

1.5 CONDUITS (mechanical protection)

 Since the insulating materials are mechanically weak, they require some form of protection for mechanical
injury.
 The commonest method of installing cables is to draw them into a conduit.
[SCEE]
Wiring accessories & installation materials
ELECTRICAL INSTALLATION Eeng 4161 Corrected and Developed by Tadie B.

 The conduit can be steel or plastic steel conduit is made in both light gauge and heavy gauge.
 heavy gauge is much more frequently used.
In general, conduits can be classified as:
i. Light gauge steel-plain (unscrewed) conduit.
ii. Heavy gauge steel-screwed conduit.
iii. Flexible conduit
iv. PVC conduit.
I. Light gauge steel-plain (unscrewed) conduit:
 This type of conduit is used with special grip fittings.
 It is available with an external diameter of 12mm, 16mm, 19m, 25mm, 31mm, 38mm, and 50mm.
 In general, light gauge is the cheapest and quickest of conduit installations
 Used where the location is dry
 Little likelihood of mechanical damage.
II. Heavy gauge screwed steel conduit:
 it is very expensive
 provides a permanent installation
 maximum protection for the cables
 The joints into fittings are by means of screw threads
 available in approximately 3meter lengths and threaded at the two ends
III. Flexible steel conduit:
 Consists of light galvanized steel strip spirally wound, and to some extent, interlocked, so as to
form a tube.
 It is made in size from 19mm to 50mm internal diameter.
 It is made in two grades: non water tight and water tight.
 Available in lengths up to 250 meters, So no coupling, no threading, no elbow is required
 Uses of flexible conduit are for protecting the final connections to motors.
 It has the additional advantage of reducing the transmission of vibration.
 The flexible conduit is costlier than the rigid conduit.
Iv. PVC conduit:
 wide applications in internal wiring because it is:
 light in weight,
 shock proof,
 anti-termite,
 Resistant to fire, acid and alkaline.
 Used for concealed type of wiring.
1.6 CONDUIT ACCESSORIES AND FITTINGS
a. Conduit couplers: - used to join two lengths of conduit
- are threaded on both ends.
b. Bends, elbows and tees: - are generally called conduit fittings.
 Bends are usually used for change in direction of conduit. This should never be sharp. The minimum
allowable radius of curvature is 2.5 times the outside diameter of the conduit.
 Solid elbows and tees should be used only at the end of the conduit run (e.g. close behind a light fitting or
accessory).
c. Conduit boxes
i. For providing connections to light, fan, and other points. The conduit boxes serving this purpose are
known as outlet boxes because conduit terminates at the boxes.
ii. For pulling of cables in to the conduits. The boxes serving this purpose are known as inspection boxes.
iii. For housing junction of cables. The conduit boxes serving this purpose are known as junction boxes.
1.7 LIGHTING ACCESSORIES AND FITTINGS
[SCEE]
Wiring accessories & installation materials
ELECTRICAL INSTALLATION Eeng 4161 Corrected and Developed by Tadie B.

I. Switches:
 Used to control lighting circuits.
 Most are rated at 5/6A, but ratings at 15A are also available.
 available in three types:
1. one way switch
2. two way switch
3. intermediate switch
 To allow true control of a number of different circuits from one position, switches are contained within the
same unit: two-gang, six-gang, etc.
II. Lamp Holders
 Designed for quick removal and replacement of the lamp and yet they must hold
the lamp in firm metallic contact to prevent overheating.
There are three main sizes of lamp holders:
 Bayonet-cap (B, C) up to 200W
 the medium Edison screw (E.S) up to 300W
 the Goliath screw (G.E.S) above 300W
III. Plugs and socket outlets:
 These are used to enable portable apparatus to be connected to the fixed wiring
and comprises of two or three contact tubes and terminals.
 The plug is the movable part connected to the apparatus by flexible wire, and
consists of two or three contact pins to fit in to the contact tubes.
1.8 FUSES
It is consists of a piece of copper or tin-lead alloy wire, which will melt when carrying a predetermined current.
This element with contacts, carrier and base is called a fuse. Fuse is placed in series with the circuit to be
protected, and automatically breaks the circuit when over loaded. The time for blowing out of a fuse depends on
the magnitude of excess current. i.e. the larger the fault current the more rapidly the fuse blows.
Three terms are used in connection with fuses:
Current rating: this is the maximum current that a fuse will carry indefinitely without undue deterioration of the
fuse element.
Fusing current: this is the minimum current that will ‘blow’ the fuse.
Fusing Factor: this is the ratio of minimum fusing current to the current rating
Fusing Factor = minimum fusing current /Current rating > 1
Types of fuses: -Rewirable Fuses (ff=2)
-cartridge (or high breaking capacity, HBC) fuses; (ff=1.5)

1.9 CIRCUIT BREAKERS

 It is device designed to open and close a circuit by non- automatic means and to open
the circuit automatically on a predetermined over-current without injury to itself.
 Standard ratings: both fuse and circuit breakers are available in standard ratings of 6, 10, 16, 20, 25, 35,
50, 63, 80, 100, 125, 160, 224, 250, 300, and large sizes.

1.10 DISTRIBUTION BOARD

A distribution board is an assemblage of parts, fuses or circuit breakers, arranged for the distribution of
electrical energy to final circuits or to other sub-distribution boards.
The standard distribution boards usually have 4, 6, 8, 12, 18 or 24 fuse ways both single phase and three
phases are available

[SCEE]
Wiring accessories & installation materials
ELECTRICAL INSTALLATION Eeng 4161 Corrected and Developed by Tadie B.

[SCEE]
Wiring accessories & installation materials
ELECTRICAL INSTALLATION Eeng 4161 Corrected and Developed by Tadie B.

[SCEE]
Wiring accessories & installation materials
ELECTRICAL INSTALLATION Eeng 4161 Corrected and Developed by Tadie B.

[SCEE]
Wiring accessories & installation materials
ELECTRICAL INSTALLATION Eeng 4161 Corrected and Developed by Tadie B.

[SCEE]
Wiring accessories & installation materials
ELECTRICAL INSTALLATION Eeng 4161 Corrected and Developed by Tadie B.

[SCEE]
Wiring accessories & installation materials
ELECTRICAL INSTALLATION Eeng 4161 Corrected and Developed by Tadie B.

.
.

[SCEE]
Wiring accessories & installation materials
ELECTRICAL INSTALLATION Eeng 4161 Corrected and Developed by Tadie B.

[SCEE]
Wiring accessories & installation materials
ELECTRICAL INSTALLATION Eeng 4161 Corrected and Developed by Tadie B.

[SCEE]
Wiring accessories & installation materials
ELECTRICAL INSTALLATION Eeng 4161 Corrected and Developed by Tadie B.

[SCEE]
Wiring accessories & installation materials
ELECTRICAL INSTALLATION Eeng 4161 Corrected and Developed by Tadie B.

[SCEE]
Wiring accessories & installation materials
ELECTRICAL INSTALLATION Eeng 4161 Corrected and Developed by Tadie B.

[SCEE]
Wiring accessories & installation materials